Hydrokinesis
by Rikkamaru
Summary: Four bodies, all found without a scratch on them. Slowly, Aqualad begins to piece the information together, and is shocked by what he finds. Post Titans Together.


Don't own Teen Titans.

Hydrokinesis

* * *

><p>It was the third body to appear like this, and the oddity of it all had been what pushed the police to contact the Titans over it. All of the bodies were perfectly fine; no sign of struggle or how they died, their corpses just stumbled upon in alleys.<p>

Beast Boy shivered as he looked at the body. It was a teenager about their age, and he looked peaceful, if only troubled a little by his thoughts. Everything else looked fine, almost _too_ fine, but something about it made Beast Boy's insides churn.

The changeling paused. It was his inner animals that were recoiling from the corpse, but which ones? He closed his eyes, and looked in his soul. Different parts of it reached out for him, creatures that wanted to walk with him on the earth, but he brushed past them and looked in the darker parts.

In the corners of his heart, the creatures most disturbed were shivering. He analyzed each one, and gasped. They were all marine animals! Each one most shaking in some way, and the more aggressive ones were trying to intimidate him away.

What's wrong? Why are you shaking? Beast Boy tried to merge his mind with their instincts, but the Great White Shark that was there brushed his influence away from the group.

We don't want to be near that body; get away from it before its scent sticks on you. The Shark bared its teeth at him in a threatening manner, but even it looked distressed.

Beast Boy gave them an odd look. But _why_ don't you want to be near it?

It was the River Otter that answered this time, but his response was just as cryptic, if harsher. That corpse is an _abomination_ to us. It is without the very thing that is sacred to us. Without the dictator of life or death, it is stuck in a limbo that we condemn.

_What_? That definitely didn't make sense to the changeling, who had never heard them speak like that.

The Dolphin spoke this time, and he was always straightforward with his answers. That body contains no traces of water, Garfield. It scares us to see something meant to carry water without it.

Beast Boy nodded. Got it. He then resurfaced into his own instincts, and opened his eyes once more.

Now that he was aware of the problem, he could actually see what they were talking about. While the body did look at peace, his skin had a stretched-thin look to it, like a person with wind burn.

"Hey; doesn't it look like this guy's too dry?" Beast Boy tried to explain it to his team, but it only got him odd looks from Robin and Cyborg.

"What do you mean, BB?" The changeling paced around the body and pointed at all of the taut skin.

"He looks like those things you see on TV where it says to just add water. You know, de…dehydro-no…dehydray…"

"Dehydrated?"

Beast Boy jumped up in victory. "Yeah! That! Dehydrated!"

Cyborg's eyes widened and he ran a series of scans over the body. "You're right, BB. There are no signs of water in his body, at all. Not even in his head or stomach."

Robin nodded at this new information and turned to the police officer behind him. "Are all of the bodies like this?"

The man ran his hand through his hair nervously and nodded. "Yes, but we didn't think anything of it. We thought the sun had just evaporated it all."

"Thought nothing of it? Sir, the human body has the potential to be composed of as high as seventy-eight percent of water! There is no way the _sun_ could get rid of it all!" Cyborg sounded both angry and astounded. How could the police think this was _natural_?

The officer blushed and looked away. "I'm sorry! We're not used to this kind of stuff, okay?"

Robin stood between the two and gestured at the body. "It doesn't matter; what's done is done. What does matter is that we have a person going around and _sucking the water_ out of innocent people's bodies. We have to catch him, and soon."

Starfire nodded, as did Cyborg. Raven inclined her head, but she wasn't interested in confronting a man that they didn't know the powers of yet. Beast Boy just looked at the body, and shivered.

The corpse remained still, a peaceful smile on his face.

* * *

><p>"Why am I here again?"<p>

"Titans East called for me to come over to offer a helping hand, and as my partner, I had to take you with me of course!"

Jinx rolled her eyes. "Of course. What was I thinking?"

Kid Flash grinned and continued touring her through Titans East's Tower. "I don't know, babe, but you better get on the ball, or who knows how many villains will escape."

"Don't call me babe." Jinx swatted at him but he just flashed over to her other side, blowing into her ear as punishment. She let out an annoyed sound and grabbed his ear, making him whine the entire walk down to the last room.

When they opened the door to that room, Cyborg was in there as well, typing something into the computer on the nearest wall. On the far side of the room was a giant tank of water, with Aqualad floating lazily just above the bottom of it.

Kid Flash grinned and ran to the tank, knocking on it and receiving a frown from the Atlantean. He then sped over to Cyborg and rested an elbow on the mechanical man's shoulder. "Hey Cyborg! What're you doing?"

Cyborg shrugged the elbow away and continued typing, stopping occasionally to read the stats and numbers appearing on it. "I'm giving Aqualad his physical. His body is composed of different chemicals and was essentially "built" differently, so normal tests and physicals won't give me the proper information."

Kid Flash nodded and attempted to look serious. Key word being attempted. "Sounds boring!" He then ran back to the tank and climbed to the top, trying to stare at the aquatic Titan through the waves.

Jinx watched as the Atlantean took the prodding and pestering with good humor, and walked to the tank herself. "Brother Blood had one of these examination tanks," she mused.

Cyborg grunted a sound that implied he was listening and Aqualad turned his attention to her. "Did he? I never saw it while I was there."

The witch nodded and placed her hand distractedly on the glass. "Yeah. He never told us what it was for though. Just said some students would use it from time to time."

No one thought anything more of it, but Aqualad looked deep in thought throughout the rest of the exam, his face pensive.

* * *

><p>"So, I think it's cool you guys called and all, but <em>why<em> did you call?"

Starfire spoke on the other side. "Robin does not wish to admit it, but we do not know what to do with this person running around. Cyborg says that the person takes all traces of water away from the human body, and we do not know how he does it."

Kid Flash adjusted his grip on the phone and moved the sleeping Jinx so that she was more comfortable. The witch mumbled something and curled up more tightly, her hand gripping his shirt. He smiled at the sight before turning his attention back on the phone. "So you want me and Jinx there to what? Catch the guy? Help find clues?"

Starfire sighed over the line and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "I would like if you could help track the guy down with us. If not, it might put Robin more at ease to at least see more Titans pulling a weight of their own."

Wally grew quiet and mouthed the words to himself in bemusement. "You mean, "pulling their own weight"?"

"Why would they do that? Do they claim possession of weights?"

Kid Flash laughed softly. "Never mind. Sure, we'll visit. Give us two hours, and we'll be there."

"Oh, thank you! Good-bye."

"Later." He ended the call and closed his eyes, opening them again when Jinx spoke to him sleepily.

"Why two hours? We could be there in a minute; I know you're fast enough."

"Awww, aren't you sweet." The pinch he got in return made him grin, and he cuddled her closer. "I need two hours because it's _my_ turn to nap."

"Whatever."

Kid Flash's grin widened and nuzzled her cheek. "Love you too, honey!"

* * *

><p>"Whoa," Jinx breathed as she looked through all of the information around her, the location of the corpses marked carefully on a city map and the contents of each body documented. She looked at the percentages of body elements and blinked. "They didn't find <em>any<em> water in the bodies?"

"At all." Robin gave her a suspicious look but didn't think much of her curiosity. Jinx was known as the witch of bad luck; this type of murder was both completely against her ethics and incompatible with her powers.

"What about body fluids? Were they just taken out, or evaporated, or what?" Kid Flash was the one to ask this, speed-reading the entire profile and writing down some key things.

Cyborg was the one to answer that. "Any elements within the body that were not H2O were left. Blood vessels were still in the body, but each red and white blood cell was dehydrated. The trace elements that make up the acid that breaks down food in the stomach was still clinging to the walls of the organ, but the water that made it an actual acid was gone."

Jinx let out a slow whistle and leaned against the wall. "That's some weird stuff. Makes me think of the gorgons that went to the academy."

Beast Boy spun around and shot her a stunned look. "You had people that turned others into _stone_ at the HIVE academy?"

Jinx nodded and gave a small smirk. "Yep. They were rather odd people; never took off their reflective sun glasses; roomed alone; sat only with each other; you know, like the big wigs in high school. Their attacks were purely psychological, however. If they looked you in the eye, they entered your mind and put in a subconscious command for you to eat iron, calcium, that kind of stuff. You were compelled to eat it, and as you did, the overload of those elements made your body harden. Eventually, you turned yourself to stone, all without realizing it."

Beast Boy paled at that, and even Starfire looked a little disturbed by the story. But Jinx wasn't done. "Oh! And then there were the people who could manipulate air. They were scary. If you pissed off one of the really powerful ones, they could halt the exchange of oxygen in your body. Made you pass out in four minutes."

Now Beast Boy freaked out. "What? That's crazy! How do you know all of this?"

Jinx gave a look that was both amused and sheepish. "The gorgon stuff was all book work and reports we had to do. We had to choose a mental power and research it, and I chose the gorgons. As for the air manipulators, well…I pissed off a really powerful one and he made me pass out in four minutes."

"**What?**" Not even Kid Flash had been aware of that, if the shocked and angry look on his face was anything to go by. "What did you say that pissed him off?"

"I told him he was nothing but hot air. He didn't appreciate the sentiment."

Beast Boy chuckled and relaxed a little. "Wow, and you guys say I'm bad at jokes."

Jinx nodded. "That would've been a bad joke. Too bad I was serious at the time." She then got off the wall and left, shouting a parting, "I'm getting a soda!" after the door had closed.

* * *

><p>"My young prince! What has brought you back to Atlantis?"<p>

Aqualad smiled politely at the guard and brushed his hair from his eyes. "Something odd has caught my attention on the surface world and I wish to see the records of something while here."

The guard nodded and escorted him to the information wing. "Yes, of course my prince."

When they got there, a small mousy Atlantean was organizing files. "What can I help you with, my prince?"

Aqualad smiled at her and looked rather sheepish. "This may sound like an odd request, but can you give me the files of all of the Atlanteans who have gone missing in the last three years or so?"

The small secretary nodded and flittered about, returning in five minutes with a small stack in her hand. "Here you are my lord."

"Thank you." Polite smile still in place, Aqualad took the files, bowed to the female, and left, her parting, "It was my pleasure, sir!" earning a chuckle.

In his borrowed room (the staff wouldn't let him pay), Aqualad read through each file carefully. His eyes looked over their ages, powers, gender, time and place of disappearance, and suspected ends (death or unknown). After he finished, he carefully stacked them together and rested his head in his hands. "How could this have happened?" he whispered.

Only the deafening silence in the room answered.

* * *

><p>Robin looked up from his computer, surprised to see Aqualad in the door way. "Is there something I can help you with, Aqualad?"<p>

The Atlantean was staring at the dry body case with horror. "I…I came to get away from the Titans East. As a…as a break – dear Neptune Robin what is this?"

Robin sighed and stood up, looking at the pictures of the bodies sadly. "This is the newest problem in Jump City. Some guy is walking around and is taking all traces of water from the body. We don't know how he finds them, but his choices are all random. None of the people had an outstanding physical trait that was similar. We don't know how he kills them, and we haven't caught him yet."

Aqualad looked at the pictures and hesitated, then steeled himself and faced Robin. "I might be able to help you, Robin, but I need to check something and I'll need Raven to go with me."

Robin nodded and called Raven in over the communicator. "Fine, I'd appreciate catching this guy as soon as possible. What are you checking on, anyway?"

Aqualad gave a bitter chuckle and moved to leave the room and meet up with Raven. "It's not so much a _what_ as it is a _who_." Outside the room he gently grabbed Raven's arm and looked at her. "We need to go to the prison that Brother Blood is being held in."

The demoness nodded and pulled the two of them into a shadow. They reappeared at the Jump City prison and walked through the halls to Brother Blood's room. "What do you need him for?" she asked, voice just above a monotone.

Aqualad turned to look at her, and in the dim lighting of the prison, his violet eyes looked dark and foreboding. "I think Brother Blood manipulated an Atlantean and is mind controlling him. He has for years, and never stopped."

Raven's eyes widened and she stared at Aqualad. "What?"

"How else could he have escaped the sinking academy? How else could he manipulate _my_ mind, when Atlanteans have a different thought process and neuron pathway? He controlled my mind like he had been in another Atlantean's mind before, and that's because I think he has." Aqualad stared at Raven and then punched the wall beside him in frustration.

"I should have known! I looked over the missing Atlantean reports recently, and two years ago an Atlantean with moderate power was documented to have disappeared near the HIVE academy!" Aqualad looked away in shame and covered his head with his hand. "I don't look at the missing reports often; I should have been a better leader for my people."

"What does his controlling an Atlantean have to do with the series of murders going on in Jump City?"

Aqualad sighed and turned to look at her again. "Some Atlanteans have the ability to control water. I can, for example. If they train in it extensively enough, they could draw water miles below the surface. They don't have to see it, and it doesn't have to be a lot."

Raven looked straight ahead of her, but horror was growing in her. "You don't mean…"

"Yes. The Atlantean is drawing all of the water in the people away from them, most likely while they're still alive."

The two stopped walking and faced a cell, where Brother Blood was sleeping. Raven moved to wake him, but Aqualad gripped her arm. "Scan his mind. He may be commanding the Atlantean right now, and we need to see if his brain is active now."

Raven nodded and scanned the former headmaster's mind, finding the trailing thread of control extending from his mind. "You're right, he's controlling the other person right now."

Aqualad smiled in relief and leaned against the nearby wall. "Good, then we won't have to talk with him. Can you sever the connection between the two?"

Raven nodded and closed her eyes in concentration. A moment later, Brother Blood gasped as his control over the Atlantean was destroyed, and the stress of losing the connection made him pass out for real.

Aqualad grabbed her arm again and started to walk back to the entrance. "Good, now let's get out of here. We have to reach him before anything bad can happen."

* * *

><p>The Titans found the suspect right before he could take the water out of his next victim. What came next was a great chase that took them through a large number of alleyways and bars. Finally they had him cornered at a dead end and were about to speak to him when the suspect, only a teenage boy a little older than them, froze up.<p>

He looked at them, and it seemed like something within him broke as he suddenly screamed into the sky before fainting on the muck-covered ground. The Titans looked at each other, confused, but still placed power inhibitors on him and took him to the tower.

He woke up not that long after they placed him in the containment room. "Wha…what's going on? Where am I?"

"You're being contained until we can figure out why you were going around killing people."

The boy jumped at hearing a voice and looked around, but didn't see anyone. "Who are you? Why can't I remember things? I haven't killed anyone!"

"Don't play innocent! We just caught you trying to remove any traces of water from a civilian!"

"I didn't kill anyone! I would never kill someone so heinously!"

"Stop lying!"

"That's enough!" Robin turned from the microphone to see Raven walking towards him, her face entirely serious. "Robin, Aqualad had been correct in his suspicions. This is an Atlantean, and we just returned from destroying the mental link Brother Blood had established in him."

While Raven continued to explain things in the room, Aqualad entered the containment area and stood in front of the other Atlantean. The teen stared up at the aquatic Titan, before moving closer and curling up around his legs. "My prince…"

Aqualad smiled sadly at the other teen and placed his hand on the other's head. "Hello, Eraquis. I'm glad you're back."

Eraquis smiled and cried into the other's legs. "I'm glad I'm back as well, my prince."

"You know what will happen next, correct? You will be put on trial in Atlantis for the death of four humans, and I will accompany you and explain your situation. They will release you, but will most likely sentence you with community service on the surface at a beach to wean you back into living in the ocean."

Eraquis nodded frantically, too terrified with going to court and relieved at living to question his prince. "Yes my lord."

Aqualad smiled at him and helped him up. "Let's get you home."

As they exited the room, Robin met up with them and bowed his head. "Raven explained everything; we'll compound the deaths of the four people onto Brother Blood's prison sentence. He'll most likely never leave that place at this rate."

Aqualad nodded and gestured to Eraquis. "We both appreciate it, but we must go; Atlantis will still put Eraquis on trial for using his powers on humans, and I will speak in his defense. I'll see you guys later."

Robin nodded, wished him luck, and watched as the two walked away. While they went to the pool leading to the ocean, Eraquis looked at Aqualad. "I am sorry my lord."

"Hm?" Aqualad turned to him and Eraquis continued.

"I caused you so much trouble. That human took control of me, and there was nothing I could do."

"That is no fault of your own, Eraquis. Brother Blood once controlled me for a time as well, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I ignored the missing reports, never thought to look at them, and this happens. I promise you now that this will never happen again. I am simply happy to have you back, Eraquis."

Eraquis smiled at him, and the tears he was trying to hold in escaped. "Thank you. Thank you, my prince."

Aqualad merely smiled back, and jumped into the water. "Come on; your parents are waiting."

* * *

><p>This plot bunny hit me upside the head last evening, and I immediately began writing it. Nothing mysterious happens afterward, I just couldn't think of a way to make it a completely happy ending.<p>

Yes, creepy thought process. Hydrokinesis (an ability most Atlanteans have) plus the fact that the body is about seventy percent water created this. It was also inspired by the Avatar: The Last Airbender episode "The Puppetmaster".

This does not take place in same universe as Black Cat's Eyes or any story related to Black Cat's Eyes. This is just something that I wanted to write.

Please review.

Ja ne!


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